OVER the past 15 years Leeds has undergone a remarkable transition. Andrew Mosley spends a weekend in one of this country's most up-and-coming cities and finds a hotel with the X-Factor.

AS a child, visits to Leeds largely meant a walk up and down its hilly shopping area and a couple of hours in the city's main department store before rushing to catch the train home.

The Leeds experience stopped before the cobbled Calls area and certainly didn't include a walk along the banks of the River Aire. Back then, what is now the crowning glory of Leeds' cafe society was the city's Red Light area and the waterway was punctuated by the dilapidated remnants of its industrial past.

Luckily, enough people with vision saw the potential in Leeds, with its vast roadways and fantastic architecture, to spur on a recovery of some note.

The Calls now boasts some of the best eateries, bars and hotels in the city, none better than the former 18th century corn mill at number 42.

Back in 1991, the idea to transform this mill into a boutique designer hotel was born and realised with some success.

The hotel is stylish and modern, yet retains all the best parts of its former life even some of the equipment used is situated in the bedrooms.

The relaxed atmosphere of 42 The Calls is exemplified by its honesty bar and the willingness of staff to stop and chat and pass on information.

Its 41 bedrooms all offer something different, ranging from the luxurious penthouse suite in which Sharon Osbourne recently stayed to the junior suites, directors rooms and studies.

Our room, last inhabited by Sharon's fellow X-Factor judge Louis Walsh, boasted a lovely river view and tasteful decoration.

There are several "before" photographs of the mill, which reveal just how much of a task faced those with the vision to transform it, while the pulley and girder hanging from the ceiling provided a stark reminder of the building's less than designer-led past.

Original exposed wooden beams are everywhere, but are now coupled with soft lighting, the downiest of duvets, crisp Frette linen and in addition to fishing rods in river-facing rooms, there is even a privacy hatch to allow room service or a newspaper to be delivered to your room without disturbance.

All guests are greeted by a welcome package of water, sweets and fruit, and the spacious black and white bathrooms, with shelves held up by ceramic brackets shaped as a 4 and a 2, contain classy Molton Brown toiletries as well as a deep bath, a powerful shower and quirky soaps shaped as frogs.

To add to the comfort, there is a mini bar, an ironing board and trouser press, Sky TV on a plasma-screen television, DVD player, internet access, 24-hour room service, valet parking, shoe cleaning and laundry facilities as well as a midweek morning complementary city centre chauffeur.

Outside the bedrooms, there are excellent conference facilities, including The Fletland with a balcony overlooking the river and The Blue Room just across the road.

The hotel also has close links with one of Yorkshire's finest restaurants, the double AA rosetted Brasserie Forty 4, while just along the road, the Aire Bar offers the opportunity to quench your thirst at a riverside table.

Hotels and waterside apartments are springing up all along the Aire, while away from the water, the architectural wonder that is the Corn Exchange, to where the corn from the mill at 42 used to be taken, is a buzzing shopping centre.

Just along the main drag, there is enough to keep the most discerning of shoppers entertained for a day, with the likes of Harvey Nichols, Paul Smith, Space NK and Kurt Geiger housed in the fabulous Victorian glass-roofed arcades.

If you need a break from the shops, there is plenty to do as Leeds has fully embraced the Continental-style cafe culture.

The pedestrianised centre itself, as well as the river area and, in actual fact, most of the city, is bedecked with pavement cafes, bars and restaurants, while restaurants of all types offer up culinary delights for even the fussiest of eaters.

We enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine in the hotel bar and the Aire Bar, a pint of Pimms at a very reasonable £3 in Cuban Heels, just beyond the Corn Exchange, and an excellent Indian meal at Akbar's on Eastgate, before sampling some nightlife in the popular Greek Street area.

After a wonderful night's sleep, we were served up an excellent and quite large breakfast, with variations on offer from full English, with a choice of at least 10 different sausage fillings, to continental or vegetarian.

A more than satisfactory ending to an excellent weekend.

Rooms at 42 The Calls range from £150 for a study and £180 for a deluxe to £225 for a directors room, £280 for a junior suite and £395 for the Penthouse, with weekend breaks and packages also available.

Tel: 0113 2440099 or visit the hotel site at www.42thecalls.co.uk